Donald Trump's lawyer on Thursday tried to show star witness Michael Cohen as a motivated liar in an intense cross-examination during the former US president's hush-money criminal trial in New York.
During hours of testimony, Todd Blanche accused Mr Cohen of lying about the topic of a phone conversation he said he had with Mr Trump.
Mr Blanche said the call concerned harassment from a prank caller and was not, as Mr Cohen asserted in previous testimony, about a $130,000 payment that bought the silence of adult film star Stormy Daniels, which is at the centre of the trial.
“That is a lie,” Mr Blanche said, according to Reuters. “You can admit it.”
“No sir, I can't, because I am not certain that is accurate,” Mr Cohen replied.
Mr Blanche retorted: “We are not asking for your belief.”
Mr Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. He is accused of scheming to cover up payments made to three people, including Daniels, so their scandalous stories would not be released before the 2016 presidential election. He has pleaded not guilty.
Mr Trump's legal team played audio clips to jurors in the Manhattan court in a bid to suggest Mr Cohen had motivation to see his former boss jailed.
“You better believe I want this man to go down,” AFP reported Mr Cohen as saying in a podcast clip that was played for the jury.
Mr Blanche also told jurors that Mr Cohen has lied to Congress and the US Justice Department.
Mr Cohen testified earlier in the trial that he regretted the lies he told while working for Mr Trump, as well as those he told out of loyalty to the former president in the years after.
The former “fixer” for Mr Trump served time in prison for his pivotal role in the hush-money scheme.
Earlier this week, Mr Cohen said that Mr Trump ordered him to pay Daniels and discussed how he would reimburse Mr Cohen through invoices for legal fees.
Prosecutors argue that financial reimbursements for the hush-money payments were falsely labelled by the Trump Organisation as legal expenses, which they say breaches campaign finance law.
Mr Trump's legal team claims the payments to Mr Cohen were for his legal work through 2017.
The court proceedings may be nearing their conclusion, as the prosecution has announced that Mr Cohen is the final witness they will be calling.
It is not yet clear if the defence will call any witnesses, including Mr Trump.
Court will adjourn until Monday so Mr Trump can attend his son Barron's high school graduation.
The Republican presidential candidate faces charges in three other criminal cases, but the month-long New York hush-money case is likely to be the only one to go to trial before the November election, in which Mr Trump will face President Joe Biden.
Mr Trump has said the criminal cases are efforts to hinder his campaign for presidency.
“We're seeing today what lengths the Democratic Party will go to to try to rig or steal another election,” Republican House representative Bob Good said outside the court on Thursday, flanked by other far-right members of his party.
Republicans including House Speaker Mike Johnson have travelled to New York to attend the trial in a show support for Mr Trump.
Some of those attending may be trying to curry favour with the former president as he considers who he might name as his running mate this year.
Donald Trump’s legal woes – in pictures
The 12 breakaway clubs
England
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur
Italy
AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus
Spain
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid
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Punchy appearance
Roars of support buoyed Mr Johnson in an extremely confident and combative appearance
Racecard
5.25pm: Etihad Museum – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,200m
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Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The nine articles of the 50-Year Charter
1. Dubai silk road
2. A geo-economic map for Dubai
3. First virtual commercial city
4. A central education file for every citizen
5. A doctor to every citizen
6. Free economic and creative zones in universities
7. Self-sufficiency in Dubai homes
8. Co-operative companies in various sectors
9: Annual growth in philanthropy
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Third Test
Day 3, stumps
India 443-7 (d) & 54-5 (27 ov)
Australia 151
India lead by 346 runs with 5 wickets remaining
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Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
Who is Allegra Stratton?
- Previously worked at The Guardian, BBC’s Newsnight programme and ITV News
- Took up a public relations role for Chancellor Rishi Sunak in April 2020
- In October 2020 she was hired to lead No 10’s planned daily televised press briefings
- The idea was later scrapped and she was appointed spokeswoman for Cop26
- Ms Stratton, 41, is married to James Forsyth, the political editor of The Spectator
- She has strong connections to the Conservative establishment
- Mr Sunak served as best man at her 2011 wedding to Mr Forsyth
